As you can probably tell from the very brief preview of the week ahead below, our work for the 2017 legislative session is nearly complete. However, as long as lawmakers remain in Nashville, it's critical that we stay alert and watch out for any surprises that may pop up. We'll be keeping a close eye on several remaining caption bills that are still moving through committee to ensure that they are not altered to negatively affect labor. If something urgent should develop during the remaining weeks of the legislative session, we will send out an alert immediately so that all of you are kept up-to-date. For the latest look at where our top bills ended up this year or to see if they are still alive, click here.

After this upcoming week, it's very likely that all we'll have to read though until session is over (besides finance committee calendars in both chambers) are House and Senate floor calendars. That means that these e-mails will be getting even shorter as we head towards May! Sometimes, these floor calendars are not released until after we've sent out our weekly update. If we notice that a particularly good or bad piece of legislation is being heard in the House or Senate, we will post updates on our Facebook and Twitter pages immediately. Please keep a close eye on both websites, as well as your inboxes, for any major, last-minute happenings at the Capitol.

Monday, April 17th

House Floor Session, 5 p.m.

House Bill 817 (SB 240):This bill would authorize the governor to appoint people to fill positions on certain boards from lists submitted by interested groups. In short, this could jeopardize the positions that some of our brothers and sister hold (or could hold) on certain boards.

House Bill 625 (SB 512):This piece of legislation would prohibit implying that a non-incumbent candidate is an incumbent.

Tuesday, April 18th

Senate Finance, Ways & Means Committee, 8:30 a.m., LP 12

Senate Bill 559 (HB 1374):This bill would create a state office that helps local governments with public-private initiatives dealing with transportation facilities.

Note: This bill will also be heard in the House Finance, Ways & Means Subcommittee on Wednesday at 12:00 p.m. in LP 16.

House Bill 395 (SB 381): This piece of legislation would mandate that any school buses ordered or purchased after July 1st of next year be equipped with a seat belt system. Any buses currently in operation would have to have seat belts installed by July 1st, 2023.

House Finance, Ways & Means Committee, 12 p.m., LP 16

House Bill 325 (SB 1214):This is a"clean-up" workers' compensation bill that has been introduced by the administration. We have read the legislation and do not have any issues with this bill.

Note: This bill will also be heard on the Senate floor on Monday afternoon at 3 p.m.

House Bill 979 (SB 473):Similar to last year's "Right to Earn a Living Act," this enacts the "Freedom to Prosper Act," which limits how local governments may regulate occupations.

Note: This bill will also be heard on the Senate floor on Wednesday at 2 p.m.